1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to solar collecting devices, and more particularly, to a solar collecting device which is easily removable from the structure to which it is mounted for ease of maintainance and repair.
2. Prior Art
At present, most solar collectors are manufactured as self contained, weather-proof boxes and are arranged on either a roof or adjacent to a building which is to be solar heated. Such devices are generally mounted in a frame work or stand upon the roof, or as an alternative method, are grouped next to each other on the roof structure and are sealed around the edges. In some installations the collectors also become the surface of the roof. In the former instance, one must have the expense of a weather-tight roof on which the collectors are mounted in a frame. In the latter case, the cost of the roofing surface is saved, but one inherits a rough surface which is leak prone due to the many surface cracks and joints inherent in an assembly of collectors.
Additionally, in either of these types of installations of collectors maintenance or replacement of an element in the collector system becomes quite expensive. In the case of either, the maintenance work must be done in the inconvenient environment of the roof. The weather sealing must be broken in order to perform the maintenance or replacement work which very likely renders the system more leak prone than was the case at the offset.
A typical example of a design which is fastened to the upper surface of a structure and forms an integral part of the roof is disclosed, for example, by U.S. Pat. No. 3,980,071. This patent also alternatively discloses securing such devices to the upper surface of an existing roof. In any event, it can be seen that such structures have an abundance of seals, flashing and cap members which hold the various parts of the collectors together and secure them to the structure.